“The difference I would like to make is a difference that myfifth-grade teacher, an African American woman, made [for]me,” says an elementary teacher from Oakland, California, whois also a Black woman. She credits that teacher with instilling inher a love of math, but also with fostering the self-confidencethat would buoy her when other teachers doubted her ability.

Now, she tries to give all her students — and especially herBlack students — that same assurance. “I make sure I get toknow each and every one of my kids, and let them know thatthey can do it.”This teacher experienced what research has shown: Teachersof color bring benefits to classrooms beyond contentknowledge and pedagogy. As role models, parental figures,and advocates, they can build relationships with studentsof color that help those students feel connected to theirschools.1 And they are more likely to be able to enhancecultural understanding among white colleagues, teachers, andstudents.2 Acting as “warm demanders,” they more frequentlyhold high expectations for all students and use connectionswith students to establish structured classroom discipline.3

Furthermore, they are more likely to teach in high-need schoolsthat predominantly serve students of color and low-incomestudents.4 Black teachers especially are more likely to stay inschools serving Black students.5And yet, teachers of color represent only 18 percent of theteaching population in the U.S. (Black teachers are 7 percent.)6State and district leaders recognize the need to diversify theteacher workforce and are working to recruit more Blackand Hispanic teachers.7 And their efforts may be paying off:Research shows that the percentage of teachers of color in theworkforce grew at twice the rate of White teachers from 1987 to2012.8

But while leaders have been busy trying to pour teachersof color into the profession, they have not plugged the drainthrough which too many exit. Indeed, teachers of color, areexiting the profession at higher rates than other teachers.9

Simply recruiting more teachers of color only gets them in thedoor; we must pay equal attention to creating the conditionsto keep them. And while it is critical to diversify the teachingforce, just having a Black or Hispanic teacher in the classroomisn’t enough. They must be strong teachers, so diversity andexcellence go hand in hand.Holding on to teachers of color, though, requires educationleaders to understand their unique experiences andperspectives. And who better to learn from than the teachersthemselves.

The choices made by
white men, who are prepared to abandon their humanity out of fear of
black men and women, suggest the true horror of lost status.

This
is a serious project. All immigrants to the United States know (and
knew) that if they want to become real, authentic Americans they must
reduce their fealty to their native country and regard it as secondary,
subordinate, in order to emphasize their whiteness. Unlike any nation in
Europe, the United States holds whiteness as the unifying force. Here,
for many people, the definition of “Americanness” is color.

Under
slave laws, the necessity for color rankings was obvious, but in
America today, post-civil-rights legislation, white people’s conviction
of their natural superiority is being lost. Rapidly lost. There are
“people of color” everywhere, threatening to erase this long-understood
definition of America. And what then? Another black President? A
predominantly black Senate? Three black Supreme Court Justices? The
threat is frightening.

In order to
limit the possibility of this untenable change, and restore whiteness
to its former status as a marker of national identity, a number of white
Americans are sacrificing themselves.

They have begun to do things they clearly don’t really want to be doing,
and, to do so, they are (1) abandoning their sense of human dignity and
(2) risking the appearance of cowardice. Much as they may hate their
behavior, and know full well how craven it is, they are willing to kill
small children attending Sunday school and slaughter churchgoers who
invite a white boy to pray.

Embarrassing as the obvious display of
cowardice must be, they are willing to set fire to

churches, and to
start firing in them while the members are at prayer. And, shameful as
such demonstrations of weakness are, they are willing to shoot black
children in the street.

To keep
alive the perception of white superiority, these white Americans tuck
their heads under cone-shaped hats and American flags and deny
themselves the dignity of face-to-face confrontation, training their
guns on the unarmed, the innocent, the scared, on subjects who are
running away, exposing their unthreatening backs to bullets. Surely,
shooting a fleeing man in the back hurts the presumption of white
strength? The sad plight of grown white men, crouching beneath their
(better) selves, to slaughter the innocent during traffic stops, to push
black women’s faces into the dirt, to handcuff black children. Only the
frightened would do that. Right?

These
sacrifices, made by supposedly tough white men, who are prepared to
abandon their humanity out of fear of black men and women, suggest the
true horror of lost status.

It may
be hard to feel pity for the men who are making these bizarre sacrifices
in the name of white power and supremacy. Personal debasement is not
easy for white people (especially for white men), but to retain the
conviction of their superiority to others—especially to black
people—they are willing to risk contempt, and to be reviled by the
mature, the sophisticated, and the strong. If it weren’t so ignorant and
pitiful, one could mourn this collapse of dignity in service to an evil
cause.

The comfort of being
“naturally better than,” of not having to struggle or demand civil
treatment, is hard to give up. The confidence that you will not be
watched in a department store, that you are the preferred customer in
high-end restaurants—these social inflections, belonging to whiteness,
are greedily relished.

So scary are
the consequences of a collapse of white privilege that many Americans
have flocked to a political platform that supports and translates
violence against the defenseless as strength. These people are not so
much angry as terrified, with the kind of terror that makes knees
tremble.

On Election Day, how
eagerly so many white voters—both the poorly educated and the well
educated—embraced the shame and fear sowed by Donald Trump. The
candidate whose company has been sued by the Justice Department for not
renting apartments to black people. The candidate who questioned whether
Barack Obama was born in the United States, and who seemed to condone
the beating of a Black Lives Matter protester at a campaign rally. The
candidate who kept black workers off the floors of his casinos. The
candidate who is beloved by David Duke and endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan.

William
Faulkner understood this better than almost any other American writer.
In “Absalom, Absalom,” incest is less of a taboo for an upper-class
Southern family than acknowledging the one drop of black blood that
would clearly soil the family line. Rather than lose its “whiteness”
(once again), the family chooses murder. ♦

----------

Toni Morrison is the author of twelve novels, from “The Bluest
Eye” to “God Help the Child.” In 1993, she was awarded the Nobel Prize
in Literature. She lives in New York.

Photograph by Stan Grossfeld / The Boston Globe via Getty

This
is a serious project. All immigrants to the United States know (and
knew) that if they want to become real, authentic Americans they must
reduce their fealty to their native country and regard it as secondary,
subordinate, in order to emphasize their whiteness. Unlike any nation in
Europe, the United States holds whiteness as the unifying force. Here,
for many people, the definition of “Americanness” is color.

Under
slave laws, the necessity for color rankings was obvious, but in
America today, post-civil-rights legislation, white people’s conviction
of their natural superiority is being lost. Rapidly lost. There are
“people of color” everywhere, threatening to erase this long-understood
definition of America. And what then? Another black President? A
predominantly black Senate? Three black Supreme Court Justices? The
threat is frightening.

In order to
limit the possibility of this untenable change, and restore whiteness
to its former status as a marker of national identity, a number of white
Americans are sacrificing themselves. They have begun to do things they clearly don’t really want to be doing,
and, to do so, they are (1) abandoning their sense of human dignity and
(2) risking the appearance of cowardice. Much as they may hate their
behavior, and know full well how craven it is, they are willing to kill
small children attending Sunday school and slaughter churchgoers who
invite a white boy to pray. Embarrassing as the obvious display of
cowardice must be, they are willing to set fire to churches, and to
start firing in them while the members are at prayer. And, shameful as
such demonstrations of weakness are, they are willing to shoot black
children in the street.

To keep
alive the perception of white superiority, these white Americans tuck
their heads under cone-shaped hats and American flags and deny
themselves the dignity of face-to-face confrontation, training their
guns on the unarmed, the innocent, the scared, on subjects who are
running away, exposing their unthreatening backs to bullets. Surely,
shooting a fleeing man in the back hurts the presumption of white
strength? The sad plight of grown white men, crouching beneath their
(better) selves, to slaughter the innocent during traffic stops, to push
black women’s faces into the dirt, to handcuff black children. Only the
frightened would do that. Right?

These
sacrifices, made by supposedly tough white men, who are prepared to
abandon their humanity out of fear of black men and women, suggest the
true horror of lost status.

It may
be hard to feel pity for the men who are making these bizarre sacrifices
in the name of white power and supremacy. Personal debasement is not
easy for white people (especially for white men), but to retain the
conviction of their superiority to others—especially to black
people—they are willing to risk contempt, and to be reviled by the
mature, the sophisticated, and the strong. If it weren’t so ignorant and
pitiful, one could mourn this collapse of dignity in service to an evil
cause.

The comfort of being
“naturally better than,” of not having to struggle or demand civil
treatment, is hard to give up. The confidence that you will not be
watched in a department store, that you are the preferred customer in
high-end restaurants—these social inflections, belonging to whiteness,
are greedily relished.

So scary are
the consequences of a collapse of white privilege that many Americans
have flocked to a political platform that supports and translates
violence against the defenseless as strength. These people are not so
much angry as terrified, with the kind of terror that makes knees
tremble.

On Election Day, how
eagerly so many white voters—both the poorly educated and the well
educated—embraced the shame and fear sowed by Donald Trump. The
candidate whose company has been sued by the Justice Department for not
renting apartments to black people. The candidate who questioned whether
Barack Obama was born in the United States, and who seemed to condone
the beating of a Black Lives Matter protester at a campaign rally. The
candidate who kept black workers off the floors of his casinos. The
candidate who is beloved by David Duke and endorsed by the Ku Klux Klan.

William
Faulkner understood this better than almost any other American writer.
In “Absalom, Absalom,” incest is less of a taboo for an upper-class
Southern family than acknowledging the one drop of black blood that
would clearly soil the family line. Rather than lose its “whiteness”
(once again), the family chooses murder. ♦

Monday, November 28, 2016

"Global South against imperialism, capitalism, and racism facilitated Carmichael’s solidarity with
Castro [in 1967]. Yet divergent views on the role of race in fighting oppression limited their solidarity.

Carmichael and Castro’s spectacular alliance demonstrated their personal affinity and ideological
commonalities but did not result in an institutional alliance between the black liberation movement and the Cuban state. Instead Carmichael’s connection with the Cuban Revolution left an underexplored legacy. Examining Carmichael’s visit to Cuba illustrates the possibilities and pitfalls of transnational solidarity and furthers our understanding of postwar struggles for change."

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Young, Connected and Black

African-Americans are exuberant and reflective—optimistic about
present-day advances in income, education, entrepreneurship and health
care, and determined to forge a better future as influential leaders and
catalysts of social awareness against discrimination and social
injustice.

This latest report highlights African-Americans’ economic and
cultural gains and continues to shine a spotlight on how
African-American Millennials are forging ahead in their use of
technology and social media to raise awareness and evoke a national
discussion on civic and political issues. African-American Millennials
are expanding the use of mobile devices (particularly smartphones with a
91% penetration rate for all African-Americans), expanding their
shopping carts with fresh foods and contributing to the diversification
of mainstream primetime television viewership—forging a significant
increase in advertising dollars focused on African-American audiences.

As African-Americans, particularly younger Millennials, continue to
develop and expand their influence on mainstream America, companies are
making changes to reach this culture-rich group with unique, captivating
campaigns, as well as products and services that meet their needs.

African-American Population Growth

African-Americans continue to represent a significant
percentage of growth in the U.S. population. Having grown 21% between
2004 and 2014, the U.S. Black population is currently at 46.3 million*
(14% of the total U.S. population), according to the most recent U.S.
Census information.

The U.S. is increasingly diverse and younger, which has largely been
driven by Millennials, those born between 1982 and 2000, according to
the U.S. Census. There are 83.1 million Millennials currently in the
U.S. and of which African-American Millennials comprise 14% (about 11.5
million). African-American Millennials comprise 25% (about 11.4 million)
of the total Black population.

Saturday, October 01, 2016

MAJOR REPORT: Among High School Seniors Illicit Drug Use Is Lower for Blacks Than for Whites

jbhe.com

September 26, 2016

A new report from the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan finds that illicit drug use is more prevalent among White students who are about to enter college than it is among African American students who are about to enter their college years.

The data show that for high school seniors, Blacks are significantly less likely than Whites to use drugs. This is true for nearly all drugs that students were asked about in the survey. (At lower ages, the racial gap in drug use is smaller and for some drugs including marijuana, Blacks are more frequent users than Whites.)

Among high school seniors, 15 percent of Whites reported that they had smoked a cigarette in the past 30 days. This is more than double the rate for Blacks. More than one in five White high school students reported that they had engaged in at least one incidence of heavy drinking within the past 3o days. This is twice the rate of Black high school seniors.

The report also offers a great deal of information on drug use by college students. However, there are no breakdowns by racial or ethnic groups.

The full report, Monitoring the Future: National Survey Results of Drug Use, Volume 2, College Students and Adults Ages 19 to 55, may be downloaded above.